KeNHA in Sh3billion road tender scandal over forged documents
Court records show that another bidder, Ricons General Services Co. Ltd, submitted a lower financial bid of Sh2,777,395,507.39, approximately Sh236 million less than Lafey Construction's bid, and allegedly met all mandatory requirements. However, the company was mysteriously disqualified.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) awarded a Sh3 billion road construction contract to a company that allegedly used forged documents to qualify for the bid despite receiving whistleblower information detailing the purported fraud during the procurement process, court documents seen by The Informer Media Group have revealed.
The disclosures, contained in an ongoing High Court case filed by public interest litigant Anthony Ngatia, have cast fresh scrutiny on the conduct of KeNHA officials and raised questions over whether the roads agency deliberately ignored red flags in the evaluation of bidders for the lucrative Masara–Muhuru Bay road project.
The controversial award was floated through Tender No. KeNHA/2915/2025 for the upgrading to bitumen standards of the Masara–Muhuru Bay (B1) Road, advertised by KeNHA in November 2025.
Despite allegedly relying on forged documents to demonstrate its technical experience, Lafey Construction Company Limited emerged as the successful bidder and was awarded the contract worth Sh3,013,648,316.91 through a notification dated January 12, 2026, Ref: KENHA/2915/2025 signed by the Director General Eng. Luka Kimeli, then serving in an acting capacity.
Court documents in our possession say that the documents used by Lafey Construction to support its bid purportedly originated from China Railway No. 5 Engineering Group Co. Ltd but the latter has since disowned them as forgeries.
Curiously, the forgeries were not detected by the KeNHA evaluation team members at the technical evaluation stage despite the due diligence being undertaken.
The Chinese contractor has since categorically disowned the documents.
“Our company has no knowledge of M/S Lafey Construction Company Limited and has never had any dealings with them. At no time have we subcontracted, partnered or otherwise engaged M/S Lafey Construction Limited in any of our projects in Kenya or elsewhere,” said Liao You Fu, Director of China Railway No. 5 Engineering Group Co. Ltd, in a witness statement filed in court.
“The documents presumed to have been issued by us and presented by M/S Lafey Construction Limited are not genuine, did not originate from our organisation, and were never authorised by us,” he added.
The evidence filed in court suggests KeNHA had prior notice of concerns surrounding Lafey Construction’s bid but nonetheless proceeded to award the contract.
Ngatia states that through formal communication dated March 10, 2026, China Railway No. 5 Engineering Group Co. Ltd confirmed that documents attributed to it and relied upon by Lafey Construction had been forged, unauthorised and did not emanate from the company.
The company further confirmed that it had “no contractual, business or project relationship” with Lafey Construction.
Ngatia says he promptly notified KeNHA and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) through a letter dated March 12, 2026, seeking suspension of the procurement process and investigations into the alleged fraud.
However, according to the petition, neither institution suspended the tender process nor disclosed any meaningful investigations despite receiving documentary evidence.
“Despite receipt of the complaint and documentary evidence proving forgery and fraudulent activities, KeNHA and PPRA neither suspended the procurement process nor disclosed any meaningful investigation,” the court pleadings state.
KeNHA has maintained that it attempted to verify Lafey Construction’s credentials through a letter dated December 19, 2025 signed by Eng. Joseph Kaburia on behalf of the Director General and addressed to China Railway No. 5 Engineering Group Co. Ltd.
But Liao disputes ever receiving such correspondence.
“Letter Ref: KeNHA/2915/2025 dated December 19, 2025 was never received by our company. Consequently, we were unable to issue any response to it, and any suggestion of our silence or acquiescence is unfounded,” he said.
The case also raises questions about whether taxpayers would have paid more for the project than necessary.
Court records show that another bidder, Ricons General Services Co. Ltd, submitted a lower financial bid of Sh2,777,395,507.39, approximately Sh236 million less than Lafey Construction’s bid, and allegedly met all mandatory requirements. However, the company was mysteriously disqualified.
After Ngatia moved to court, Eng. Kimeli revoked the tender awarded to Lafey Construction on May 7, 2026, nearly four months after the notification of award had been issued.
KeNHA subsequently floated a fresh tender under No. KeNHA/2953/2026, effectively cancelling the initial procurement after litigation had already commenced.
Ngatia argues that the move amounted to a belated attempt to sanitise a procurement process tainted by forged documents, ignored whistleblower alerts and an apparent failure by KeNHA and PPRA to act despite being furnished with evidence of alleged tender fraud.
KeNHA is listed as the first respondent in the suit, while Eng. Kimeli and PPRA are named as the second and third respondents respectively.
Lafey Construction Company Limited and Ricons General Services Co. Ltd are listed as interested parties.
Efforts to obtain a response from Eng. Kimeli were unsuccessful, with emails and text messages seeking comment remaining unanswered by the time of publication.
